Dedicated as ever to his social justice-oriented philosophy that ranges to the left of his colleagues, one of the main differences — read improvements — this time is that the Vice Mayor is bloomingly self-assured. Getting that part of his persona repaired was the mainspring that has smoothly generated a full and effective makeover.
Although he often has been outnumbered on some strongly-felt subjects, Mr. Silbiger tells neighborhood audiences these nights that they have him to thank for:
• Elevating Martin Luther King Day to a major event,
• For a homeless committee,
• For making colleagues aware of the need for organized youth voices,
• For promoting the importance of notifying residents of weekly City Council issues,
• For encouraging ordinary citizens to participate in their city government, and
• For trying to establish a friendly environment in which elected officials are routinely accessible to the public.
On a City Council where quarreling is on the daily menu, Mr. Silbiger may have been a lightning rod for the most in-house criticism. But in this election season, he looks like more of a force than ever before.
When he submitted to his first newspaper interview four years ago, his answers were so generic — vague, actually — they could have been scrambled, like eggs, and placed adjacent to any question that was asked. During his fist two years, criticism around City Hall about his seeming surface-preparation and unfamiliarity was whispered so loudly he hardly could have escaped hearing it.
Signs of Wisdom
His image as an iconoclast and a philosophical renegade remain intact at the end of his first term on the City Council. But one difference today is that when he takes a firm philosophical stand, his words are softer, more compassionate than when he was new. Even to his critics, he has grown in political wisdom and manner.
Without retreating from any of his dearly held convictions, Mr. Silbiger has deftly converted the perceived rigidity or stubbornness of his early days into a more appealing concept of steadfastness. The distinction is subtle but vital. On the hustings, out in the neighborhoods of Culver City, voters have observed upgrades. “Some people have told me they did not vote for me four years ago, but they plan to this year,” Mr. Silbiger said.
Away from City Hall, there is even more dramatic overturning in his life. He is not a fulltime attorney anymore. Half of his working hours are spent on the campus of Santa Monica College where the Vice Mayor teaches two introductory law courses.
Further, it has not hurt Mr. Silbiger that the unexpected vagaries of the City Council race have dealt him a kind hand.
The dynamics of a three-way race for two seats — one incumbent and two newcomers —probably would have called for a different strategy if Culver City’s most popular political personality were competing.
The double blessing of Mayor Albert Vera’s still-uncertain candidacy along with his absence from the campaign trail so far, according to some City Hall pundits, have been particularly advantageous for Mr. Silbiger. To a lesser degree, the contenders Scott Malsin and Mehaul O’Leary also gain a boost from Mr. Vera’s decision, they said.
Taking a Position on Light Rail
Warming up for his appearance at the next Candidates Forum, next Tuesday at 7 at the Syd Kronenthal Park for the East Culver City Alliance, Mr. Silbiger predicted that the so-called temporary light rail station on Westly, at ground level, never will be built. Instead, he believes the MTA will go directly to the above-grade, permanent light rail station at Venice and National boulevards.
“I am confident that we are going to have the elevated station at the first stage,” he said. “Construction will start in Culver City in about three years.
“Fortunately, we are the last station on the line. Part of what I am going to do is to make sure that funding is left for us to build because we have a whole lot in the reserve fund. I will always be asking ‘Why do we need extra money at the beginning of the line?’ when we have a need at the other end.
“We have three years to find the extra money to build the elevated station. Sacramento and Washington are not funding much these days, but transportation is high on their lists. We have to make sure Culver City gets a good part of the funding.
Last November when the City Council voted on the MTA’s environmental impact report, angry residents of East Culver City strenuously protested placing a temporary station on Westly in the midst of a residential neighborhood.
By this time next week, Mr. Silbiger will know whether they have calmed down.
It still is too early in the process, he said, to tell Westly neighbors that they can relax, that the Culver City station will be built elsewhere.
“The city and I are in the process of getting the neighbors involved in this whole process,” he said. “I don’t want people to relax in the sense of doing nothing. Different issues are coming up in light rail. They could get involved in landscaping or bike paths or artwork near the station. I would like for people to organize, to start making recommendations about these issues.”
Hurrying Won’t Help
Patience is needed, the Vice Mayor said, because a light rail line is a lengthy and complicated project. “Now is the time for the people of Westly and East Culver to get active instead of worrying whether or when this will happen,” he said.
Culver City, he is sure, will derive sprawling benefits from participating in a network that includes “L.A. City, L.A. County, Santa Monica and a variety of other cities. These are powerful representatives. They have a lot of constituents. Together we are all going to work to find the money.”
Mr. Silbiger appears to have full faith in the MTA. “They want to do light rail as quickly, as correctly, as efficiently as possible,” he said. “We can help them. They don’t want to hear people complaining about all of the inconvenience of having a Westly station. The MTA doesn’t want a station on Westly. No one I have talked to wants a station there. It is a financial thing.”
Why, then, did Mr. Silbiger join the four to one vote by the City Council last November to approve a temporary station on Westly for the proposed new nine-mile line from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City? “Because it isn’t just Westly,” he said. “The environmental impact report actually said that the elevated station is an option. It will be the only option once we get the money.
“I am confident we will find the money. I am not saying a hundred percent. Who can say that? But considering all the players in this, the added expense and trouble to build a temporary, short-term station makes no sense at all.”
Why Councilman Voted for Exclusion
Last October, Mr. Silbiger surprised and disappointed numerous residents in the two mobile home parks on Grandview Boulevard. Many regarded him as their only loyal friend at City Hall. He was the first Council member to visit the site and an enthusiastic supporter of the forty-three mobile home owners who lived for a year and a half under the destabilizing notion of threatened relocation because of a planned city redevelopment strategy.
Some home owners said Mr. Silbiger let them down when he voted to exclude them from the city redevelopment plan after a majority of the two parks voted to be included.
“Keeping the parks in the development would not have worked for them,” he said, “because no development was going to keep all of them together on the two properties. I could not have voted to include them, knowing that most or all would be evicted.”
Potentially, the parks are moving in opposite directions. The owner of one park seems content to stay put. But the two owners of the other park have made it known they are interested in selling the property.
Mr. Silbiger is hoping to convince a majority of his City Council colleagues to dip into the city’s fund for affordable housing. He would like to strike a deal similar to the one negotiated several years ago with the Playa mobile home park. In that case, City Hall loaned money to the residents to buy the park from the ownership, and now the money is being paid back.
In the Beginning There Was Learning
Mr. Silbiger described his first term at City Hall as a steep climb with an emphasis on gaining familiarity.
“The last four years have been a great learning experience,” he said.
Starting from the narrow footpath of an ordinary citizen, he acknowledged, there is a universe of information and nuances that a new City Councilperson needs to research and digest just to draw even with his colleagues.
“First you have to learn about the city itself, the people, the structures and institutions of the city, city government, what departments there are, very basic things,” the Vice Mayor said. “The average person would have no idea who is working where , what those people do, and how the city functions. This kind of day to day information you get only if you are on the City Council.
“The process has been complex,”Mr. Silbiger said. “But I continue to learn every day.”
